This invention concerns jewelry and more particularly settings which allow ready replacement of stones in the jewelry piece. Such capability has been found advantageous as allowing stones of different colors, types and cut, etc. to be placed in the jewelry piece, as to be better matched to a wearer""s clothing, or simply to change the look of the jewelry piece from time to time.
Settings have thus heretofore been devised to allow this to be done. U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,434 shows a hinged cover which can be opened to release a stone which is held on a tapered seat fixed to the jewelry piece.
The hinging of the top cover reduces the aesthetic appeal of the piece, and the hand made hinge may not be accurate enough to insure engagement with the stone. Stones can vary in size considerably, as each stone is cut from a naturally occurring product.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,488,415 attempts to solve this by using a flexible hinged top to generate seating pressure against a flat based stone. The top hinge is still aesthetically unappealing. Spring element pedestals are also suggested, but these substantially increase the depth of the holder, creating a more bulky appearance.
Also, these springs are not compatible with a diamond cut stone.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,712,171 shows a bottom hinged holder, but relies on a positive engagement, problematic as mentioned above when considering the hand made nature of the hinge.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,992,177 shows a stone pressured by threading a cover down to force the stone against a resilient ring. This involves direct rubbing contact against the stone sides, and the necessity of machining threads into the cover and body components. There is a possibility of excessive pressure damaging the stone, as well.
Other such mountings involve separate loose springs or complicated parts.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a replaceable stone setting which applies only a light pressure on the stone, which is simple and reliable, does not involve separate loose parts, and does not increase the bulk of the jewelry piece nor otherwise degrade its aesthetic appeal of the piece.
The above recited object and other objects which will become apparent upon a reading of the following specification and claims are achieved by providing a stone setting including stone receiving bezel or case having an open top formed with an inwardly projecting lip rim extending inwardly around the opening (or a series of prongs), against which the crown or girdle of a gem stone may rest when inserted from the open bottom of the case. A bottom cover is hinged to the open bottom of the case and is formed with an array of radially convergent spring blades or fingers which are resiliently deflectable. The gem stone cullette and lower part of the gem stone pavilion is received in a central clearance between the inner tips of the blades when the cover is closed. The blades are cantilevered to be resiliently deflected when the cover is latched closed to generate a moderate pressure on the gem stone holding it securely in position against the inside of the rim or prongs at the top of the case.
The blades are preferably integrally formed with the cover.
A radial slot can also be formed in the cover to allow radial spreading of the blades to increase the degree of resilient deflection thereof able to be produced by the gem stone""s engagement with the bottom cover.
A cover with a central opening supported by a deflectable arm can be used instead of the array of cantilevered blades.
A stone encircling wire ring can also be provided, pivoted to the inside of the case to prevent the stone from falling out if the cap unintentionally opens.